The annual Jackson Hole gathering of leading Fed officials, international central bankers, and academics, always provides a snapshot of high profile thought on policy. And this year’s was no different. Below are my five key observations from the event:



1. Running Out of Room for Cuts and the Drop in r*

a. Fed Chair Powell noted that the pre-2008 era was characterized by ‘long expansions supported by better monetary policy inevitably lead[ing] to destabilizing financial excesses’. The current (post-crisis) era’s question is ‘how best to promote sustained prosperity in a world of slow global growth, low inflation, and low interest rates’...